Felyne Boschloo-Karsijns

My name is Felyne Boschloo-Karsijns and I am from Beekbergen, just below Apeldoorn. I am currently in my fourth year of pre-university education (VWO), and my dream is to become a veterinarian one day. I would describe myself as a true go-getter and someone who loves sports. When I start something, I want to become good at it. Besides horses, I also enjoy creative activities such as wildlife photography, filming, drawing, and much more.

My passion for horses began at a young age. Our neighbours had a very cheeky black Shetland stallion that I was allowed to ride twice a week. When it became clear how much I loved it, we decided to buy my own pony. My first pony was a four-year-old Welsh named Kyan.

We currently have three horses and ponies at home: Shakira (Shakie), No Signal Bowdy (Bo), and Hors-ink’s Mi J’amor (Mo). We are mainly active in dressage, but we also enjoy show jumping and cross-country. With Shakira, I compete at Z2 dressage level. I haven’t competed with Bo yet, as he has only been with us for a few weeks; he is classified at Z2 level, and I am also allowed to compete at Z2 with the horses. With Mo, I compete at M1 dressage and 90 cm show jumping.

With Shakira, I hope to compete in the European Championship selections and ultimately participate in the Europeans. With Bo, I first want to build a strong partnership and then hopefully compete in the Juniors division. One of my absolute highlights so far has been winning team gold at the European Championships in the Children division. In addition, I have become Dutch Champion multiple times. CHIO Rotterdam was also an incredible experience — one of the most beautiful competitions I have ever ridden — where we finished third with a fantastic score of 70.3%. I am also extremely proud of how much Shakira and I have improved and how we have surpassed our own expectations.

For me, the most important thing for my horses’ wellbeing is that they can simply be horses — meaning they can go outside with other horses and enjoy turnout. I also believe it is important not to ride only in the arena, but to go out into the forest as well.

We came across Hartog while looking for a product containing alfalfa. We now feed Hartog Digest, Hartog Compact Grass (for competitions), Hartog Strength, Hartog Recovery Mash, and of course Hartog Harties. Shakira in particular is very picky with her feed, and we used to switch products regularly. Since she started receiving Hartog Recovery Mash, that is the only one she wants. In winter, we sometimes struggled to keep her in optimal competition condition, but with Hartog’s products, we no longer have those concerns.

On social media, I am active on Facebook and Instagram under the name felyne_boschloo_karsijns. I mainly share competition results and funny videos. The main message I want to share with my followers? Be kind to your horse. That way, we can enjoy this sport for a long time to come.